Will F&P have high standards in Carmen's hometown?

Carmen wants to know if F&P will continue to have such high
standards in her hometown.

The Directors of the Human
Rights Film Festival welcome Fisher & Paykel’s commitment
to the environment and creating an atmosphere where "All
employees are encouraged to contribute to the business. In
pleasant surroundings our people enjoy an informal
environment where success and failure are celebrated as we
challenge the boundaries in every aspect of our work." They
certainly would encourage Fisher & Paykel to live up to that
commitment and raise the standards of the workplaces in the
countries where they are moving their Mosgiel factory
to.

Carmen works the grave yard shift in one of Tijuana's
800 Maquiladoras, the multinationally-owned factories
encouraged to move there by the promise of privileged access
to the markets under NAFTA, low wages and fewer
environmental standards than in their home countries. She
and a million others like her produce the televisions,
electrical cables, toys, clothes, computer keyboards,
batteries, and IV tubes that weave the very fabric of life
for consumer nations.

She lives in a shack made out of
recycled garage doors, in a neighbourhood with no sewage
lines or electricity. She suffers from kidney damage and
lead poisoning from the years of exposure to toxic
chemicals. She earns US$6 a day. But she is not a
victim.

Carmen and others like her have had enough and the
film Maquilapolis, screening at the Human Rights Film
Festival, documents their campaign to bring the
multi-nationals to task over unpaid wages and the
contaminates left behind to course through their village
unchecked when the factories move to even cheaper
accommodation in Malaysia.

The Directors of the Festival
encourage the Board and shareholders of Fisher & Paykel to
come along to the screenings and see for themselves what
happens when economics takes precedence over environmental
and social cost. They would also like to share with them the
contact details for Carmen, so they can assure her that they
will be transferring their vision and commitment to
exceptional working conditions for their employers in
Tijuana. Something for her to look forward
to.

ALSO:

"Unfortunately we are in crisis and this friendly dinosaur faces extinction… Our only hope is to try and raise funds to buy the building and restore it to its glory, either fully funded or with a viable deposit." More>>

Previously undiscovered letters and a story written by a young Katherine Mansfield were recently unearthed in Wellington City Library’s archives by a local author researching a book about the famous writer. More>>